Comments (2)

I’ve been looking for a portable vise that would be good for my mortise and tenon work and this really seemed to fit the bill. I ordered the parts kit it from BenchCrafted.

It arrived several weeks later (I live in Canada) and opened it up with much anticipation. Low and behold the suede material had a one inch cut roughly 1/3 the way along in the middle of the piece. Nice!

Anyway, I immediately contacted Benchcrafted to send me a replacement piece of suede but received a very disturbing response.

“We allow one hole no bigger than a quarter or so, and not interrupting an edge for the Moxon vises leather tolerance. It’s normal. It’s not going to affect performance in the slightest. In fact, I bet once you glue it in, you’ll forget its even there. Also, we include a lot of extra leather. You technically don’t need it past the screws (we make it extra long because it looks nice covering the whole jaw).” Not so NICE!

So I scoured their site for DISCLOSURE of this “allowance” without any luck. I wonder whether they have the same allowance for the cast iron hand wheels or the “precision” acme screws. For that matter what are the “allowances” for the MAG-BLOKS; they may not be magnetic!

Being a woodworker I get used to making due in a lot of circumstances and I certainly understand that I COULD use this suede in this manner but this is not something i picked up for 5 bucks at the local flea market! I really cannot recommend this company for any future purchases.

Thanks for dropping me a line, I’m sorry to hear your displeasure with the folks at Benchcrafted. I consider them good friends, but regardless, I understand when someone receives a product they’ve purchased they have certain expectations of quality and rightly so too.

I always encourage individuals to contact manufacturers when something doesn’t appear as expected or is obviously broken, etc. But I hope they don’t become inflammatory when they reach out.

While I don’t think the concern about the cut in the suede is significant in the use of the Moxon vise, I can appreciate the desire for uniformity and appearance. I can be a bit obsessive of details at times (believe it or not).

I don’t really have a problem with your comments, except when you suggest that DUE to a small hole in a piece of suede (which has no structural significance to the integrity or impede the use of the vise) people should question the specifications and quality of other products produced and sold by the same manufacturer.

This really teeters on the edge of being overly inflammatory and unnecessary. I won’t edit your original comment, even though I take issue with this one part of it, but it’s really making a mountain out of a mole hill. It’s like questioning the quality and specifications of a product because of a small scratch in the paint on the inside where no one will ever see it.